The Same God

   Yesterday I read the story of Gideon in Judges 6. God called him to deliver Israel from the oppression of the Midianites. He hesitated and asked God for a sign. First he asked that a fleece he laid out would be wet with dew in the morning and the grass dry. When that happened, he still hesitated and asked for the opposite---that the fleece would be dry and the grass wet. As I read the story I was reminded of something that happened ten years ago.

   Stephen Burkholder was serving with a mission in Nepal. On April 25, 2015, there was a 7.8 earthquake with the center about 53 miles northwest of the capital city of Kathmandu. Aftershocks continued for several days. Hundreds of thousands of Nepalese were homeless with entire villages flattened. Tents were suddenly the hottest item on the market and sold out quickly. Stephen found a place in India to get tarps and was involved in their distribution. 

   One day he was sitting beside a little country road with a pile of tarps waiting for a truck. One of the men helping with the work called and said there was a hailstorm where he was and it was heading Stephen’s way. He could see it coming and there was absolutely no place to go for protection. He prayed, “Lord, I’m here on your business and I’d really rather not get wet and pounded by hail.” He sat there watching the storm coming and eventually it was lightning and hailing all around him. He didn't have a fleece, but the spot where he was sitting stayed dry.

    Our God is still the same God! He still does the same miracles if we ask.